Thursday 12 July 2012

Munaf Patel

Born to a Muslim family, Patel first gained prominence in 2003 at the age of 20 before he had even played first class cricket for Gujarat, when he was invited to the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai by the Indian chairman of selectors Kiran More. There he attracted the attention of visiting Australian captain Steve Waugh, and the director Dennis Lillee, a former Australian fast bowler, with his raw pace. With the backing of Sachin Tendulkar, he was signed by Mumbai in a transfer deal, in late 2003. In August 2005, he transferred to Maharashtra, and after taking 10 wickets against England in a tour match for the Board President's XI, he was rewarded with his selection in the Indian Test Squad for the 2nd Test against England inMohali, when he made his Test debut. Patel recorded the figures of 7/97 on debut, including 4/25 in the second innings and demonstrated an ability to swing the ball in both directions.  n the 2005–2006 Test Series against West Indies, Munaf proved he was arguably the fastest bowler in India, bowling regularly at speeds of over 85 miles per hour (137 km/h) and has produced balls at a pace over the 90 miles per hour (140 km/h) mark. In the first match of the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy against England, Munaf Patel again produced figures of 3/18 – winning the match for India and gaining the man of the match award. In the 2011 world cup,  Patel put in a Man of the Match performance to return personal best figures of 4/29 off nine overs, taking the final wicket of Wayne Parnell to lead India to a 1-run victory, India's first against South Africa in South Africa since 2003. He was eventually named in India's World Cup squad. In India's first World Cup match against Bangladesh, Patel took four wickets, albeit with India defending a comfortable 370 from their innings. He is a part of Mumbai Indians setup after three seasons with Rajasthan Royals in IPL.

- Wishing him a very happy birthday..

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